Barriers to 5S – How to implement this program in your organization

The 5S program was designed in Japan to achieve a high degree of cleanliness and standardization on factory floors. This program gets its name from five Japanese words; Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Set), Seiso (Brightness), Seiketsu (Standardize), and Shitsuke (Hold). When implemented, this program has the ability to make the workplace safer and more efficient, thereby increasing employee morale.

It is a good idea to implement 5S because this will help increase the competitiveness of your company. However, you will surely find some problems associated with the implementation of this concept. These problems usually stem from your employees’ resistance to change. This is a very human fault and you need to take steps to address it.

1. Don’t implement this program without careful planning. Start by changing any process, particularly one that is highly visible. This will help build a lot of confidence in the process and reduce resistance to future changes. Also, this will require less effort on your part. The logistics of making many changes simultaneously will be too great for you to handle.

2. Don’t push too big changes. This can antagonize your employees and make them fear for the future. If you make changes in small increments, but keep the momentum going, you will be successful in the long run.

3. Communicate the importance of these changes to your employees. Only if you have your unconditional cooperation will he be able to promote this program. People at all levels of the organization must understand the importance of this program and must contribute accordingly.

4. Do not let the systems return to their original nature due to lack of follow-up. Invest time and money in a good training program and also in monitoring systems so that changes are not forgotten or ignored. In fact, you will need to take advantage of these incremental changes to take your business in a new direction.

As you can see, you must have a lot of patience to implement 5S in your organization. However, the results are well worth it. If you feel overwhelmed with the task at hand, it’s a good idea to call in a management consulting firm to monitor the changes and get the systems right. You will be able to achieve a more efficient way of working and your customers will also notice the improvement in your products and services.